Live at The Village Vanguard

The latest ECM album to feature pianist Ethan Iverson – following last year’s duo recording with saxophonist Mark Turner, Temporary Kings, and two lauded discs with the Billy Hart Quartet – presents the Brooklyn-based artist at the head of his own quartet in a program of standards and blues, recorded live at Manhattan’s famed Village Vanguard. Iverson’s quartet for Common Practice features as its prime melodic voice the veteran Tom Harrell, who was voted Trumpeter of the Year in 2018 by the U.S. Jazz Journalists Association.

Blue Note Records has announced an April 26 release of Sonny Rollins A Night at the Village Vanguard: The Complete Masters, a special Tone Poet Vinyl Edition of the legendary saxophonist’s tour-de-force live trio album. The expanded 3-LP set, which can be ordered now on the Blue Note Store, marks the first time Rollins’ complete recorded performances at the Village Vanguard on November 3, 1957 will be made available in a single vinyl package. The collection is also available as a 2-CD set and on all digital formats.

Steve Coleman - Live at the Village Vanguard, Vol. 1 (The Embedded Sets) (2018) {Pi Recordings Digital Download}
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© 2018 Pi Recordings | PI76
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone

Alto saxophonist Steve Coleman’s Live at the Village Vanguard, Vol. I (The Embedded Sets) is his first live release in over 15 years. It captures his band Five Elements in two joyous sets at the historic New York venue where some of the most famous jazz recording from the likes of John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and Bill Evans have been made.

Art Pepper - Live At The Village Vanguard (1977) {4CD Set Contemporary-Victor Japan, VDP-5043~6, Early Press rel 1987}
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© 1977, 1987 Contemporary Records / Victor Japan | VDP-5043~6 | from a master recording
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Post Bop / West Coast Jazz / Saxophone

I’ve long overlooked Pepper’s later work, there is so much good stuff in his prime, but when I stumbled on this lovely three box set recorded in 1977, and with one of my recent favourite bassists, George Mraz, and Mr Elvin Jones on drums, a second opinion was long overdue. Recorded over three nights before a relaxed appreciative audience (no jackass stomping hooting or whistling, – apologies to those who welcome the more demonstrative audience ) this live set automatically has you turning the lights down low and joining the audience, a decanter positioned strategically within arms reach.

Gerald Clayton - Happening: Live at The Village Vanguard (2020) {Blue Note 00602508926020}
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© 2020 Blue Note / UMG | 00602508926020
Jazz / Post Bop / Piano

If you have not heard Gerald Clayton live, especially if you have not heard him live with Charles Lloyd, you may wonder what all the buzz is about. It’s not that Clayton’s records have been weak; four have received Grammy nominations. But he has never made an album that fully renders the revelation of hearing him in person on a good night. Until now. Happening represents two firsts: Clayton’s Blue Note debut and his only recording at the Village Vanguard. It is not piano-centric; the band is a world-class two-saxophone quintet featuring Logan Richardson (alto), Walter Smith III (tenor), Joe Sanders (bass), and Marcus Gilmore (drums). But Clayton’s piano contributions, in their wild, free-spilling, lyrical aspiration, are consistently stunning.

Joshua Redman - The Spirit of the Moment: Live at The Village Vanguard (1995) [Warner Bros.]
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© Warner Bros. | 45923 | Jazz / Post-Bop

This double CD gives one a definitive look at how the much-acclaimed tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman sounded in the mid-'90s. Joined by pianist Peter Martin, bassist Christopher Thomas, and drummer Brian Blade, Redman stretches from Gene Ammons (who is saluted on "Jig-a-Jug") to late period John Coltrane, showing off both his wide range and his lyricism. Redman is heard at his best on the four-minute cadenza that opens "St. Thomas," digging into "My One and Only Love" and playing almost outside on "Lyric." Of the 14 songs, nine are his originals and, although Redman was not at this point an innovator, he was well on his way to forming his own personal style. Recommended.

The first of two albums recorded at the legendary final appearance of the Bill Evans Trio at the Village Vanguard, these recordings have long been recognized as capturing the unique interaction that characterized the trio of Evans, LaFaro and Motian. This new edition of Sunday at the Village Vanguard is released as part of the OJC Series and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI with all-analog mastering from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. It is presented in a Tip-On Jacket. This reissue features remastered audio from the original master tapes and also is available on 192/24 hi res digital.